In Vino Veritas
by Tarma Hartley
Summary: Alternate Universe. Fallen from grace, Miles Edgeworth spends his days in an alcoholic haze but this night will be different. He's about to descend into his own special hell... with Manfred von Karma as his jailer...


_A/N: Miles Edgeworth, Phoenix Wright & Manfred von Karma belong to CAPCOM; the plot belongs to me. Some spoilers from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney._

_In Vino Veritas is Latin for "In Wine, Truth" or, as I've heard it phrased, "In Wine, There Is Truth." (The latter sounds better to me linguistically but the former is the direct translation from the Latin so I used that one for this reason for the heading in the beginning of the story.)  
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_Fallen from grace, Miles Edgeworth spends his days in an alcoholic haze but this night will be different. He's about to descend into his own _special _hell... with Manfred von Karma as his jailer...  
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An AU fic featuring Miles Edgeworth with appearances by Phoenix Wright and Manfred von Karma. This is my take on what happened in the three years-according to my timeline in "All Things Being Equal"-that Miles and Phoenix were separated. In this, Miles has fallen far from grace and is drinking to help ease his pain. There may be some who might not agree with this characterization of him but I think this wouldn't be a stretch at all in portraying him in this way at this point in time: even the strongest people have a breaking point... and Miles has reached his.

_This _is the hell that Miles has imprisoned himself in: of blame, recrimination and despair. It's tough going for someone who's as messed up emotionally-with _good _reason, thanks to von Karma's malign influence!-as Miles is and he's broken down at this point. It's never a comfortable feeling to be alone with your demons, particularly one in the form of your psychotic mentor.

I have von Karma's dialogue in German since Miles lived with the von Karma family in Germany since the age of nine, when von Karma took him in and this is a pointed reminder of the malign influence that von Karma was on his young life. [It also has a much larger emotional punch, at least to me.] That man just sets my teeth on edge.

Of course, Miles _will _get up again with the love and help of a certain fiery mythological bird but, for now, he's wallowing in the depths of despair... with von Karma as his jailer who's only _too _happy to torture him! Bastard. Too bad he's already dead.

Hope you enjoy it and, as always, comments and suggestions are warmly welcomed and gratefully accepted and appreciated!

_Thank you, as always, to my readers who frequently read-and even re-read-my stories and those who have commented, _read, reviewed, favourited/story alerted my stories and thanks also to those who have author alerted/favourite authored, as well! I appreciate it very much! I am glad that you are enjoying my stories and I hope that you will continue to enjoy them in the future! :)

**Thank you **to my beta, Midnight-hunter, for all your comments and insights! I really appreciate it! :) **Thank you **also to YoushiSemenjyu at y!Gall for beta-reading this for me, as well! I really appreciate it!

**Thanks **to MeiIlan at y!Gall for translating von Karma's dialogue into German. Danke! I really appreciate it!

**Special thanks **to my beloved husband, DezoPenguin, for all his encouragement, love, concern and for reigniting the fire within me to write! Love you, honey, and thanks!

I hope you enjoy it and, as always, comments and suggestions are warmly welcomed and gratefully appreciated!

Rated Teen, angst/hurt/comfort, AU, Miles Edgeworth  
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**In vino veritas: In wine, truth.**

Miles Edgeworth held the glass of Red Burgundy in his hand gingerly, almost as if he were afraid that it would break if he didn't handle it with care. Given what the object was and what link it had with his past, he was surprised that he even remotely cared about its preservation.

The heavy crystal goblet, with the von Karma crest emblazoned on it, seemed to mock him as he slowly turned it around and around in his fingers, his glazed eyes staring at it blankly as the sun's dying rays glinted off of the surface. How many years had it been since he had escaped the malevolent clutches of Manfred von Karma? Three, perhaps more; he wasn't certain since all the days seemed to blend together into one, large blur.

Maybe this happened because of the alcohol that he imbibed in frequently in order to dull the pain, to try and forget his past and all that he had run away from. And, most of all, trying to forget _him_.

He sighed as he gazed into the liquid darkness of the wine in front of him, watching the swirling ruby-red depths as if hypnotized as it sloshed around in a neat circle, climbing up an inch higher inside the glass with every revolution. His eyes narrowed, his mouth turning down at the corners before he slowly brought the goblet up to his lips, gulping down the contents in one swallow. Sighing, he reached toward the table where the wine bottle stood and grabbed the neck in trembling and unsteady fingers.

He cursed himself as he poured the wine, some of the ruby-red liquid missing the glass and splashing over his black vest. He soon found that wiping it off with his hand didn't help except to spread it even further so, with a soft sigh, he looked around for something with which to wipe it off with. His unsteady gaze scanned the room through a thick, twisting haze until his eyes fell upon the crumpled handkerchief that lay on the left hand corner of the coffee table in front of him. Sighing and holding the bottle tightly in his hand, he slowly lifted himself up from his prone position on the couch, his unsteady fingers reaching out to grasp empty air instead of the crumpled linen.

His bloodshot dark grey eyes narrowed as he tried again and, although he was closer than he was the first time, he still missed it, his trembling fingers grabbing empty air once again. A low, angry growl escaped from his tightly compressed lips and he took another swipe at the handkerchief again; this time, he succeeded in knocking it off the table and onto the rug.

He swore an oath as he lunged at the crumpled piece of fabric and managed to grab it before he slid off of the couch and onto the floor with a loud thump, spilling the rest of the Red Burgundy all over the rug in the process. He watched it soak into the rug behind bleary and angry eyes, rage rising in him as he saw it disappear.

"Damn... it...!" he slurred, feeling despair flowing over him like a tidal wave, blotting out all other considerations as he pathetically tried to scoop up the rapidly disappearing wine with his goblet, grumbling loudly as soon as it became apparent to him that it was a hopeless task and had to watch as it vanished.

Despair and shame washed over him in a wave and he lowered his head, tears spilling down his cheeks, deep, wracking sobs being torn from him. The goblet fell from his nerveless fingers, turning over and over in the air before it landed with a soft thump on the floor beside him, spilling the rest of it out onto the rug where it disappeared as quickly as the bottle's contents had. He watched in numb silence before he was overcome with another wave of tears and recriminations, berating himself over and over for _every _mistake he had ever made in his life, both real and imagined. He was a fool, running away from him who was his life, his raison d'être and from everything he knew in order to escape the terrible memories he couldn't bear to face.

If he was honest with himself, he had to admit that he had been unable to handle the backlash that had erupted from the resolution of DL-6. If he had ever thought that it's resolution would have given him peace of mind at last after fifteen years and lay to rest the ghosts of the past once and for all, he soon found that he was sorely mistaken.

The emotional trauma had been considerable and it left him reeling to the point where he wasn't sure if he would be able to survive the onslaught. He knew that he was pathetic and he could almost hear the sarcastic voice of Manfred von Karma whispering poisonous words into his ear, burning like acid on his wounded psyche.

How did he fall so far so quickly? Once he was fêted in the legal community, an up and coming prosecutor under the tutelage of Manfred von Karma, himself a legend with his near perfect record; he had the world by the tail and there was no reason not to think that he, in time, he wouldn't become a legend himself in his chosen profession. Now all he was a washed up has-been with only the bottle for comfort and a prisoner of his past, plagued by horrific nightmares.

"_Du bist armselig.. (You're pathetic...)"_ Miles heard him say in his mind, imagining the sneer that would have spread across his face and trembled as the picture seared itself onto his brain. "_Eine nutzlose, armselige Hülle von einem Mann... Ein mordender, nutzloser, parasitärer Brudermörder. Du warst schon immer ein Versager, Junge... (A worthless, pathetic shell of a man... A murdering, useless fratricidal parasite. You always were a failure, boy...)"_

He could hear the man's menacing laugh echoing in his ears and he moaned, clapping his hands to his ears in order to block those pitiless words that battered against the barriers in his head. "_Du bist weniger als Nichts... ein mangelhaftes Exemplar und das einzige Produkt des verrotteten Samens deines Vaters. (You are less than nothing... an imperfect specimen and the sole result of the rotten seed of your father.)"_ He could almost hear the man sniff in disdain. "_Du bist nicht mehr als eine Verschwendung an Fleisch und Knochen... Eine rückratlose Null... (You're nothing more than a waste of flesh and bone... a spineless cipher...)"_

"No..." he moaned, rolling onto his knees, his hands clasped tightly against the sides of his head, shaking his head violently from side to side. "No... it's not true! I _didn't_ kill my father!"

"_Natürlich hast du das getan (Of course you did)_," von Karma's silky, menacing voice purred sadistically in his ear, an evil chuckle echoing in his mind. "_Ich war lediglich das Instrument, das die Waffe geführt hat, aber du, Junge, warst derjenige der die Räder in Bewegung setzte. (I was merely the instrument that wielded the weapon but you, boy, were the one who set the wheels in motion...)"_

"No...!" Miles clapped his hands tightly against his ears, trying to drown out von Karma's mocking voice but it was useless for that poisonous hissing echoed in his mind and there was no place he could go to hide or get away from it. It stripped him right down to his bones, tearing and lacerating his wounded mental flesh with fresh wounds that bled copiously.

_Every_ secret, _every _failure that he had tried so desperately to hide, _everything_ was laid bare, torn from his soul by von Karma with a savage delight that unnerved and frightened Miles. Every time the man came toward him, his hands reaching out like claws, he tried desperately to run away but found that he couldn't avoid it, screaming in agony as von Karma scored another wound on him, his fingers dripping with blood. _His_ blood.

Von Karma took a vicious pleasure in emasculating Miles, bursting into loud, raucous laughter with every wound he made on Miles' soul whispering of how much pleasure he took in hurting him, how he wanted to hurt him and how much he was looking forward to dragging his soul to hell with him.

With a cruel, predatory look on his face smiling in unholy glee, von Karma threw out what seemed to be steel chains that zeroed in on his broken, bleeding body, wrapping around him as he tried desperately to break free of the restraints but found he was unable to.

He looked helplessly into the gloating face of Von Karma as he pulled the chains up short and Miles screamed as he felt the steel biting into his flesh; he pulled with all of his might to break free, moaning and crying out in pain which only served to stoke his psychotic mentor's enjoyment to new, depraved heights.

"_Wertlos... nutzloser Parasit... dummes Kind! (Worthless... useless parasite... foolish child!)"_ echoed in his ears as he tried, in vain, to escape. "_Es gibt kein Entkommen für dich, mein Junge... Dies ist dein Schicksal... (There is no escape for you, my boy... this is your fate...)"_

Von Karma raised a white-gloved hand, streaked with dried blood and pulled Miles closer to him, a seductive sneer plastered across his features. Miles increased his efforts to escape but was forced to look down as a pit opened up in front of him.

"_Schau herunter, mein süßes Kind (Look down, my sweet child),"_ von Karma purred, running his hand slowly and sensuously over Miles' body while he twisted in disgust, trying to stop those fingers from touching him and, to his shame, arousing him. "_Das ist, was du verdienst für den Betrug an deinem Vater... (This is what you deserve for betraying your father...)"_

Miles didn't want to look and tried to pull his head back but von Karma's hand shot out, grabbing a handful of his grey hair and shaking it until he wept in pain.

"_SCHAU! (LOOK!)"_ von Karma ordered once again, his face a twisted mask of rage and sweet seduction, "_und sieh dein Schicksal! (and see your fate!)"_ Miles did so unwillingly, looking down into a gaping, fiery maw, his eyes widening in horror as he saw burning bodies quailing and writhing in burning, liquid fire, their blackened mouths splitting in silent screams.

Von Karma smiled and licked his lips as he watched Miles' horrified gaze traveling down into the pit, his entire body trembling as he tried to pull back from that fiery hell, his eyes rolling until the whites of his eyes showed, terrified cries pouring from his tightly compressed lips.

"_Auf Wiedersehen, Miles (Goodbye, Miles),"_ von Karma purred, capturing Miles' lips in a passionate kiss that nearly made him sick before he thrust Miles away from him, sending him tumbling head-first into that fiery abyss, "_mögest du für immer brennen, mein süßer Judas, in Schmerz und Agonie in alle Ewigkeit! (may you burn forever, my sweet Judas, in pain and agony for all eternity!)"_

Miles opened his mouth in a silent scream as he fell toward that glowing, white hot heart that reached out to him, his mentor's mocking laughter following him.

As he tumbled downward, screams of pain and agony echoing in his ears, he thought he heard a soft voice calling out to him, a voice that promised relief from his pain, a voice that told him of the wonders of love, a voice that sounded achingly familiar, a voice that warmed him to his very marrow.

In this supreme moment, when he faced his own destruction and staring Death literally in the face, he couldn't forget him and wished that he hadn't run away from him and the life he could have had with his beloved had he only the courage to face his demons head-on. Regret and despair poured through him as he came ever closer to that blazing purgatory, twisting helplessly within his steel prison. He'd run away because he couldn't bear to face the hell in his own mind alone and now, with that sweet voice echoing in his ears, it was too late but to look into the blazing fire that would take his life and consume him, tears silently rolling down his cheeks, reflected in the dancing flames.

"**PHOENIX**!" he cried out in despair as he hurtled into the abyss to be consumed in a lake of liquid fire, that sweet voice following after him into the darkness...


End file.
